Product face-offs
Philips 220XW
| Diagonal screen size | 22 pouces |
| Type | TN |
| Resolution | 1680 x 1050 pixels |
| Response time | 2 ms |
| Interfaces (HDMI / DVI / VGA / YUV) | 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 |
| Options |
Une sortie son coaxiale numérique Un port USB |
| Viewing angles (H/V) | 170° / 160 ° |
Balanced reds, greens and blues but they are dark
For colors, the 220XW is satisfactory. In other words, there is nothing exceptional here, notably due to a gamma problem that is impossible to manually adjust. The result is a lack of gradation in darker areas on the image.
Without a calibration sensor correcting colors seems difficult. It’s unfortunate because without the gamma problem, colors would be quite accurate.
Pierre-Jean Alzieu
Test date: 2008-04-09
Test date: 2008-04-09
At first glance, this screen seems like a clone of the 220CW with added integrated speakers and likewise a TN 2 ms panel. The design is stylish and just like Samsung, Philips has chosen black glossy plastic, rounded edges and a fixed base. One small difference compared to the 220CW, in addition to DVI and VGA inputs, there is now a 1 port USB hub (a second would have been nice) as well as an HDMI. It is therefore possible to connect a webcam, HD player or even a latest generation game console without an adaptor and use the integrated speakers. For this reason, we hoped to have a versatile monitor for watching TV via an ADSL box, gaming with a console, and work.
Not a true 2 ms but via manual adjustment a “real” 5 ms
Our verdict? No, this probably isn’t your dream screen, or at any rate, not if you are looking for a reactive model. It’s actually what we can call a “fake 2 ms”. We were surprised to see the overdrive function, here called SmartReponse, deactivated. In theory, its purpose is to accelerate liquid crystals. On OFF, unsurprisingly the reactivity of this screen is equivalent to LCD with an announced response time of 5 ms. This is modest and what is currently the slowest.
We activated SmartReponse and then understood Philips’ choice. Afterglow is indeed reduced, but the image is degraded due to the appearance of black ghosting, also called reverse ghosting. In this case, it’s extremely significant. As you can see on the below extract, there is a dark afterglow image behind objects in movement. On the screen, if we observe from very close, it translates into a black and bothersome accentuation on objects. Many users will not like this and it’s therefore preferable to reset the SmartReponse to zero.
(1).jpg)
Not a true 2 ms but via manual adjustment a “real” 5 ms
Our verdict? No, this probably isn’t your dream screen, or at any rate, not if you are looking for a reactive model. It’s actually what we can call a “fake 2 ms”. We were surprised to see the overdrive function, here called SmartReponse, deactivated. In theory, its purpose is to accelerate liquid crystals. On OFF, unsurprisingly the reactivity of this screen is equivalent to LCD with an announced response time of 5 ms. This is modest and what is currently the slowest.
We activated SmartReponse and then understood Philips’ choice. Afterglow is indeed reduced, but the image is degraded due to the appearance of black ghosting, also called reverse ghosting. In this case, it’s extremely significant. As you can see on the below extract, there is a dark afterglow image behind objects in movement. On the screen, if we observe from very close, it translates into a black and bothersome accentuation on objects. Many users will not like this and it’s therefore preferable to reset the SmartReponse to zero.
- Attractive
- HDMI + DVI + VGA
- Sound connection + 1 port USB hub
- Poor black gradation
- Very disappointing in 2ms mode
- TN panel = small lower viewing angle = screen darkens
- Excessive unjustified price
When we buy a so called 2 ms screen, we especially do not want a 5 ms. Unfortunately, this is the problem with the very disappointing Philips 220XW. For the price, it severely handicaps this product.
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